Dortmund ([ˈdɔɐ̯tmʊnt] (listen); Low German: Düörpm[ˈdyːœɐ̯pm̩]; Latin: Tremonia) is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia. Its population of 575,944 (2013) makes it the 8th largest city in Germany. Dortmund is the largest city by area and population in the Ruhr Area, an urban area with some 5.1 million (2011) inhabitants which is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany. Dortmund is also a part of the larger Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region of more than 12 million people.

Dortmund is known as Westphalia's "green metropolis". Nearly half the municipal territory consists of waterways, woodland, agriculture and green spaces with spacious parks such as Westfalenpark and the Rombergpark. This contrasts with nearly a hundred years of extensive coal mining and steel milling within the city limits.

The first time Dortmund was mentioned in official documents was around 882[2] as Throtmanni.[3] After it was destroyed by a fire, the Holy Roman EmperorFrederick I (Barbarossa) had the town rebuilt in 1152 and resided there (among other places) for two years. It became an Imperial Free City. Throughout the 13th to 14th centuries, it was the "chief city" of the Rhine, Westphalia, the Netherlands Circle of the Hanseatic League.

In 1920, Dortmund was one of the centres for resistance to the Kapp Putsch - a right military coup launched against the Social Democratic-led government. Radical workers formed a Red Army who fought the freikorps units involved in the coup.

The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Dortmund in April 1945. The US 95th Infantry Division, attacked the city on 12 April 1945 against a spirited German defense. The division, assisted by close air support, advanced through the ruins in urban combat and completed its capture on 13 April 1945.[6]

Post-war, buildings such as the Reinoldikirche and Marienkirche (churches) were restored/rebuilt, and extensive parks and gardens were laid out. The LWL-Industriemuseum began in 1969,[7] and the city subsequently became a centre for hi-tech industry.

On 3 November 2013, more than 20,000 people were evacuated after a 4,000-pound bomb left over from World War II was found. German authorities safely defused the huge bomb without incident. The bomb was found after analyzing old aerial photographs while searching for unexploded bombs dropped by Allied aircraft over Germany's industrial Ruhr region.[8]

Historically speaking, Dortmund is a part of Westphalia. Today it is a part of the European Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, which is situated in the Bundesland North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund is an independent city within the boundaries of the district government of Arnsberg.

Dortmund comprises sixtytwo boroughs which in turn are grouped into twelve suburban districts (called Stadtbezirke) often named after the most important boroughs. Dortmund consists of twelve municipalities, three of which cover the area of the inner city (Innenstadt-West, Innenstadt-Nord, Innenstadt-Ost) and nine districts in the surrounding area (Eving, Scharnhorst, Brackel, Aplerbeck, Hörde, Hombruch, Lütgendortmund, Huckarde, Mengede). Each Stadtbezirk is assigned a Roman numeral and has a local body of nineteen members with limited authority. Most of the boroughs were originally independent municipalities but were gradually annexed from 1905 to 1975. This long-lasting process of annexation has led to a strong identification of the population with "their" boroughs or districts and to a rare peculiarity: The borough of Hörde, located in the south of Dortmund, and which was not annexed until 1928, has its own city coat of arms.

Dortmund is situated in the temperate climate zone. Winters are comparatively mild, summers rather cool. The average annual temperature lies at approximately 9 to 10 °C (48 to 50 °F), the total average annual amount of precipitation lies at approximately 800 mm (31 in). Precipitation evenly falls throughout the year; steady rain prevails in the wintertime, isolated showers dominate the summer season. Dortmund features characteristics of densely populated areas as for example the occurrence of urban heat islands is typical.

Dortmund's population grew rapidly in times of 19th century industrialisation when coal mining and steel processing started. For the first time in 1904 more than 100,000 people lived in Dortmund. Not taking war years into account population figures had constantly risen to 657,804 in 1965. Subsequently, population figures have fallen to approximately 580,000 in 2011; projections forecast a further decline to 550,000 inhabitants by 2030.[10] Contrary to those projections population figures have been slightly rising in the previous years which is due to net migration gains. Younger people (18 to 25-year old) in particular come to settle in Dortmund mainly because of its universities or other education-related activities.[11]

Data of the EU-wide 2011 census revealed massive inaccuracies with regard to German population figures. Consequently, respective figures have been corrected, which resulted in a statistical "loss" of 9,000 inhabitants in Dortmund.[12] As of 2012, Dortmund had a population of 571,403 of whom about 177,000 (~30%) were of non-German origin.[11] Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Dortmund by nationaliy per 31 December 2014[13]

The politics of Dortmund are dominated by the social-democratic SPD. Since World War II, the SPD has been the biggest party on the town council (German: Stadtrat) - except from 1999 to 2004. Since the 2012 local election, there have been 8 parties and electors' groups on the town council (86 seats; 2009: 96 seats):

Companies that are headquartered in Dortmund include Signal Iduna, Thyssenkrupp Uhde Gmbh and Wilo. Dortmund is now home to a number of medium-sized information technology companies,[15] many linked to the local university TechnologieZentrumDortmund program.[16] The city works closely with research institutes, private universities, and companies to collaborate on the commercialisation of science initiatives.[17]

In 2009, Dortmund was classified as a Node city in the Innovation Cities Index published by 2thinknow.[18]

Dortmund also serves as a major European and German crossroads for the Autobahnsystem. The Ruhrschnellweg follows old Hanseatic trade routes to connect the city with the other metropolises of the Ruhr Area. Connections to more distant parts of Germany are maintained by Autobahn routes A1 and A2, which traverse the north and east city limits and meet at the Kamener Kreuz interchange northeast of Dortmund. In combination with the Autobahn A45 to the west these form the Dortmund Beltway (Dortmunder Autobahnring).

The central train station (Dortmund Hauptbahnhof) is the third largest long distance traffic junction in Germany.

Dortmund Harbour (Hafen) is the largest canal harbour in Europe and the 11th fluvial harbour in Germany.

For public transportation, the city has an extensive Stadtbahn and bus system. In April 2008, the newly constructed east-west underground light rail line was opened, completing the underground service in the city centre and replacing the last trams on the surface.[20]

The H-Bahn at Dortmund University of Technology is a hanging monorail built specifically to shuttle passengers between the university's two campuses,[21] which are now also flanked by research laboratories and other high-tech corporations and startups. A nearly identical monorail system transfers passengers at Düsseldorf Airport.[22]

Dortmund with RWE-Tower and churches of Reinoldi, Petri and Marien on the right

Dortmund is a city of contrasts cultural history tones are set by the churches in the city centre whose towers characterise the skyline of Dortmund. The Reinoldikirche and the Marienkirche are gems of medieval architecture.

The city centre of Dortmund still retains the outline of the medieval city. A ring road marks the former city wall, and the Westen-/Ostenhellweg, part of a medieval salt trading route, is still the major (pedestrian) street bisecting the city centre.

Petrikirche, a Protestant church (start of construction 1322). It is famous for the huge carved altar (known as "Golden Miracle of Dortmund"), from 1521. It consists of 633 gilt carved oak figures depicting 30 scenes about Easter.

Marienkirche, a Protestant church originally built in 1170-1200 but rebuilt after World War II. The altar is from 1420.

Close to Westfalenstadion are the Westfalenhallen, a large convention centre, the site of several major conventions, trade fairs, ice-skating competitions, concerts and other major events since the 1950s.

Dortmund is home to the sports club Borussia Dortmund, one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund are former Bundesliga champions most recently in 2011–2012. Borussia Dortmund was winner of the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup in 1997, as well as the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1966. This made it the first European Cup Winner in Germany. 'Die Borussen' are eight-time German Champions and have won three German Cups. Borussia Dortmund play at Westfalenstadion, currently known as Signal Iduna Park. It was built for the 1974 FIFA World Cup and also hosted some matches of 2006 FIFA World Cup. It is Germany's largest football stadium with a maximum capacity of 80,720 spectators.[23]

Borussia Dortmund also has a women's handball team playing in the first Bundesliga, while Borussia's table tennis team and the SVD 49 Dortmund basketball team play in their respective second national divisions.